Keno is a well known casino game and has been played in both live game format and electronic game format for many years. In conventional keno, there are eighty keno numbers in the pool of numbers that may be drawn in any one round of the game. In the typical live keno game format, eighty keno balls are numbered 1 through 80 and are placed in a air blower device that circulates the keno balls. Twenty of the eighty keno balls are selected each game. Besides air blower devices, other devices that can randomly select numbers from a pool have been used such as electronic random number generators. The twenty numbers selected are typically displayed to the players on an electronic reader board device. The electronic reader board device has a matrix of eight rows with ten columns which shows all eighty possible numbers that may be drawn. As a keno ball is drawn, its corresponding number is illuminated on the electronic reader board device.
In a conventional live keno game format, each player marks a keno ticket that is also an eight by ten matrix having eight rows and ten columns arranged similarly to the electronic reader board device. The keno numbers from one through eighty are printed on the keno ticket. Prior to the start of a round of the keno game, a player selects between one and fifteen numbered spots that the player thinks will be drawn during the game. Typically a player uses a crayon-like pencil to mark the numbered spots he wishes to play on his keno ticket and the player takes his marked keno ticket to a keno station. The player makes an appropriate wager and turns in his marked keno ticket at the keno station. The player receives back a stamped and receipted ticket showing the amount of the player's wager and the numbered spots that the player has selected.
The keno game operator then activates the keno equipment and proceeds to draw twenty numbers from the eighty keno balls. Depending on the number of matches between the twenty numbers drawn and the numbered spots selected by the player, the player wins or loses. The more numbers that match, the higher the payoff to the player.
In a live keno game format, wagers can range from as little as 35.cent. a game to $5, $10 or even higher dollars per game. Typically each establishment operating a keno game will provide a group of payout charts showing the amount that it is possible for the player to win based on the amount wagered, the number of numbered spots selected by the player and the number of matches achieved by the player when the twenty keno balls are selected. For example, if the player wagers $1 and selects one number, the player will typically win $3 if his selected numbered spot is one of the twenty numbered keno balls drawn during the play of the game. Similarly, if the player selects fifteen numbers, the player will typically have a winning ticket if anywhere between a total of eight and fifteen of his numbered spots match the twenty numbered keno balls drawn. The highest payout will be made for matching fifteen out of fifteen, with lower payouts made for matching fourteen out of fifteen, thirteen out of fifteen and so on down to eight out of fifteen. Any matches of seven or less are typically losing plays. Similar payout schemes are provided when the player marks other totals of numbered spots between one and fifteen during any round of a keno game.
When the player plays an electronic video keno gaming machine, a single player plays against the keno gaming machine for each round of the game and the player either wins or loses each round. The player wagers a coin, token or credit and selects the number of numbered spots that the player is attempting to match during that round of the game. All eighty numbers are displayed on a video screen with an eight by ten matrix similar to that of a keno ticket. The numbers are selected by the player using by a light pen, or by pressing the numbers on a selection panel or by touching the numbers selected using conventional touch screen technology.
In the typical electronic keno format, the player may select between one and ten numbered spots to attempt to match. After the player has completed selecting the numbered spots that the player wishes to match and has made the appropriate wager, the player presses the "Start" button. This causes the electronic controls of the gaming machine to randomly select twenty numbers from the pool of eighty numbers and the selected numbers are displayed to the player. The electronic controls of the gaming machine determine whether the player has achieved a winning payout at the conclusion of each round of the game. Just as in live keno, the player wins when he matches all or a predetermined minimum number of his selected numbered spots. If the player matches less than the predetermined minimum number of his selected numbered spots, then the player loses his wager. Payouts are made by accruing credits on the credit meter of the gaming machine or dispensing coins or tokens into a payout tray.
The basic principles of the play of keno are set out in Scarne's New Complete Guide to Gambling, by John Scarne, at pages 490-499.
The mathematical calculations for keno payouts are based on the odds of selecting a particular total of numbered spots when twenty keno numbers are chosen from a pool of eighty numbers. As explained in Scarne's New Complete Guide to Gambling, by John Scarne, at pages 493-499, the odds of ten particular numbers being randomly selected from the twenty numbers drawn out of the pool of eighty numbers is 8,911,710-to-1. The gaming operator then determines what payout percentage he wishes to offer to the player and provides a corresponding pay table. For example, as explained in the Scarne material, based on a percentage return to the player of 79.3%, if the player "hits" ten out of ten numbers, the player can be paid $10,000.00 for a wager of $1.00. Other payout amounts are offered if the player "hits" nine out of ten numbers down to five out of ten numbers and the player loses his wager if the player "hits" four or less numbers out of ten.
Conventional keno, in either the live game format or in the electronic game format, makes no differentiation based on how many selected numbers it takes for the player to achieve a winning event. The player receives the same payout whether the player achieves a winning event in the first few numbers drawn or whether it takes all twenty numbers for the player to achieve the winning event.
In order to increase the popularity of keno and to allow the player to be rewarded with higher payouts, it is an object of the present invention to provide a payout schedule for a keno game in which the amount won by the player is based on both the number of "hits" achieved and also the number of keno balls it takes to achieve the "hits".
It is a feature of the present invention to provide a pay table which is configured into partitions of the total number of keno balls selected during any one round of the game. Each partition is a subset of the total number of keno balls selected. As each subset of keno balls are selected, the numbered spots preselected by the player are analyzed to determine if the player has achieved a winning play. The fewer selected numbers it takes for the player to achieve a winning play, the higher the payout to the player.
It is an advantage of the present invention that another element of chance is added to a game of keno. Besides being rewarded for achieving "hits", the player is also awarded if his "hits" occur early in the progression of the selection of keno balls.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description.